1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system, and in particular, to a method and apparatus for managing Web pages. Still more particularly, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for managing viewing of Web pages.
2. Description of Related Art
The Internet, also referred to as an “internetwork”, is a set of computer networks, possibly dissimilar, joined together by means of gateways that handle data transfer and the conversion of messages from a protocol of the sending network to a protocol used by the receiving network. When capitalized, the term “Internet” refers to the collection of networks and gateways that use the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite of protocols.
The Internet has become a cultural fixture as a source of both information and entertainment. Many businesses are creating Internet sites as an integral part of their marketing efforts, informing consumers of the products or services offered by the business or providing other information seeking to engender brand loyalty. Many federal, state, and local government agencies are also employing Internet sites for informational purposes, particularly agencies which must interact with virtually all segments of society such as the Internal Revenue Service and secretaries of state. Providing informational guides and/or searchable databases of online public records may reduce operating costs. Further, the Internet is becoming increasingly popular as a medium for commercial transactions.
Currently, the most commonly employed method of transferring data over the Internet is to employ the World Wide Web environment, also called simply “the Web”. Other Internet resources exist for transferring information, such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Gopher, but have not achieved the popularity of the Web. In the Web environment, servers and clients effect data transaction using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), a known protocol for handling the transfer of various data files (e.g., text, still graphic images, audio, motion video, etc.). The information in various data files is formatted for presentation to a user by a standard page description language, the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). In addition to basic presentation formatting, HTML allows developers to specify “links” to other Web resources identified by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). A URL is a special syntax identifier defining a communications path to specific information. Each logical block of information accessible to a client, called a “page” or a “Web page”, is identified by a URL. The URL provides a universal, consistent method for finding and accessing this information, not necessarily for the user, but mostly for the user's Web “browser”. A browser is a program capable of submitting a request for information identified by an identifier, such as, for example, a URL. A user may enter a URL through a graphical user interface (GUI) for the browser to access a source of content. The URL includes a domain name plus a “file part” that points to a Web page within that domain. The domain name portion of the URL is automatically converted to the Internet Protocol (IP) address by a domain name system (DNS), which is a service that translates the symbolic name entered by the user into an IP address by looking up the domain name in a database.
Often times, a user may have one or more Web “publications” that the user wishes to read on some periodic basis. These Web publications may include articles or magazines published on the Web, cartoons or videos updated on some periodic basis, or some other informational site. Some of these Web sites are updated daily, while others are updated weekly or monthly. In some cases, the Web site may be updated at random times. Currently, a user is required to remember to visit a particular Web site at the appropriate time to be able to see the new pages or information. Often times, it may be hard to remember when sites are updated, especially when a user reads large numbers of sites. With sites that are updated on a random basis, a user is currently required to frequently return to that site in order to view new information or changes.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an improved method, apparatus, and computer instructions for viewing Web pages after they have been updated without requiring the user to remember to return to the Web site.